Bike of the year: now I know why

By Réhann Coetzee

Although I wasn’t a judge at the 2017 Pirelli SA Bike of The Year, after riding the KTM 1090 R I was quite confident that it should have won the competition and not its bigger brother, the object of this report.

I felt the 1090 was everything that its 1050 predecessor definitely wasn’t and that it did some things better than the 1190 that was replaced by the 1290. Of course, all of this expertise was shared without having actually ridden the 1290 R.

I have now remedied that and I also have to review my statement on the 1090. I still think the 1090 is an excellent package. I still think it is the pick of the mid-sized dually crop. But I was wrong about the 1290.

It really deserves the title of 2017 Pirelli SA Bike of The Year. It is an incredible bike. It has 118kW (160hp) of power and 140Nm of torque, but you don’t need all of it. Besides, when you set the riding mode to “Off-road”, it limits power to 74kW (100hp) and coupled with the stomping torque, it actually a gives very smooth power delivery.

Sadly, this big V-twin is not very happy at 3 000rpm. And under 2 500rpm, it borders on being unpleasant. It is happier at over 5 000rpm and from 7 000rpm it is positively ecstatic. But then things also start happening very quickly.

The test bike from KTM SA was brand new – it had done only 360km when I got it – so I wasn’t going to thrash it. And I am always very careful with a cold engine and nurse it until oil temperature is at the right level before I start riding it hard. But that is how I noticed that you could ride the 1290 very smoothly and gently, at civilised revs, without realising that it turns into a bit of a monster if you twist the throttle aggressively. The 140Nm of torque would obviously be the reason for that.

The quickshifter is a nice touch and gives very smooth upshifts, although not as impressive on downshifts as BMW’s version. The KTM doesn’t seem to have the “auto-blip” function that BMW has, so it doesn’t bark on the downshift, but the slipper clutch makes it very smooth nonetheless. According to KTM’s website, this is a R5 719 option.

The standard cruise control makes highway riding effortless and a little smoother. Not that riding the bike is an effort…

But of course, off-road is where KTM really excels. The 1290 R has great ground clearance and therefore it stands high off the ground. The 890mm seat height coupled with firm suspension preload means that my feet weren’t flat n the ground and initially that took some getting used to. The fairly high riding position is good off the beaten track and here the reason for the small-ish windscreen becomes clear.

A friend who had just bought a Triumph Explorer wanted to get some saddle time off-road and we rode towards Broederstroom.

Unlike its competitors from Germany, Japan and the UK, and its 1290 S sibling, the 1290 R does not have electronic suspension adjustment. But it does have tyre-pressure monitors – which I completely forgot to check when we ventured off the tar.

My friend hadn’t taken his Explorer off-road yet, so we had a gentle ride on some “twee-spoor” roads. We didn’t go fast at all and rather concentrated on body positioning on loose surfaces. When we crossed the “mountain” towards Skeerpoort, we started pouring on some speed.

After a smoke break and a comparing the torque characteristics at low engine speeds, we set off again. I switched the riding mode to Off-road and noticed that the traction control and ABS are not adjusted automatically if you do this. So I switched off traction control and set the ABS to its Off-road setting. And we blasted off.

To say this was fun would be a bit of an understatement. Although the 1290 R was limited to 100hp in this setting, I used the torque to great effect around sweeping corners. After another break, I didn’t notice that the bike stays in Off-road if you switch t off, but ABS and traction control go back to fully functioning again. I increased my speed around the fast corners and was absolutely amazed by the fact that the bike didn’t scare me once. Of course, the traction control was working hard, but because I was standing, I didn’t see the idiot light blinking.

After our off-road stint, I realised that I hadn’t let down the pressure in the tyres and had been riding at 2,5 bar in front and 2,7 bar in the back. And it didn’t matter. At all. The Continental tyres also don’t really feel like knobblies on tar, so I won’t consider changing them just as a matter of course.

KTM has certainly taken a step forward with the instrumentation on the 1290 R. Reporting after the launch, Kurt Beine said it looked like an iPad. Kurt is a self-confessed KTM fanatic, so he can be forgiven for gushing like that. But it is an impressive all-digital instrument cluster and the display automatically switches between daylight and night-time use. The sensor might be a little sensitive, as it switches to the night display when you pass underneath a bridge and then takes a while to adjust again. But it is clear in both settings and easy to read.

You can also customise the display by choosing what information you want at a glance.

I only have two points of criticism against the bike. The first is that the screen is a little too short. At higher speeds, my helmet’s peak started vibrating. If it could set to a slightly higher setting, that might solve it. My other gripe was that after switching the bike off, you have to switch off ABS and traction control again. But I am happy to report that for an extra R600 you can buy a dongle from KTM that would ensure the nanny system doesn’t meddle in your favourite settings.

The KTM 1290 Super Adventure R is truly impressive. The engine is smooth (upwards from 3 000rpm) and it is very, very strong. The suspension is firm where it should be and soaks up bumps where it should. The last thing on your mind if you decide to buy a 160hp adventure bike would probably be what the fuel consumption is, and this is where I was surprised again. When I handed it back to Riaan Neveling at KTM, the on-board computer reported an average fuel consumption of 5,4l/100km. And that is impressive, because I did test the bike fairly thoroughly.

Although I have a long-standing love affair with German motor vehicles, I have to say that this Austrian has made a huge impression on me. From June I should be able to report more regularly on the everyday-use of the 1290 R as I welcome one into my garage as a long-term test bike. I cannot wait!

Technically speaking: KTM 1290 Super Adventure R

Engine: 1 301cc, V-2-cylinder, double-overhead cam, four valves per cylinder

Power: 118kW @ 8 750rpm / 140Nm @ 6 750rpm       

Gears: 6 speed, chain

Fuel tank: 23 litres

Seat height: 890mm

Tyres: 90/90/21 front, 150/70/18 rear

Brakes: 4-piston, 320mm double disks (front); 2-piston 267mm single disk (rear)

Dry weight: 217kg

Price: R231 999